by J A Whiting
“Ricci, Johnson, and Freedman.” Paul looked deflated, but then he stood up suddenly. “Excuse me,” he mumbled. “I’m going to the restroom to be sick.”
Viv made eye contact with her cousin. “How about you and me take a quick trip to Boston one of these days?”
With anxiety gripping her stomach, Lin said, “Unfortunately, I think that might be a very good idea.”
15
Leonard sat in the passenger seat of Lin’s truck with his arms around Nicky. The little dog was standing on the man’s lap so he could see out the window as Lin drove to Maggie Topper’s house.
“Then Paul told us that Warren was having an affair with a woman who lives in Boston. The affair had been going on for two years and she had no idea Warren was married. And listen to this … Paul is afraid the woman found out that Warren had lied about not being married and she came here and poisoned him.”
Leonard turned quickly towards Lin. “Seriously? What a mess. How did Topper keep his affair from his wife? How did he keep the fact he had a wife secret from the woman?”
“I guess Warren traveled quite a bit for his work. He frequently went to Boston and Chicago. He was gone for most of the week and he traveled about two weeks out of each month.”
“That guy was a real jerk.” Leonard ran his hand over the dog’s fur. “What a rat. Did you pass the information along to the police?”
“We told Libby about it, but we kept Paul Monroe’s name out of it. She’ll share the information with her detective friend.”
Lin turned the wheel and steered the truck down the Toppers’ long driveway. “Maggie Topper is super wealthy. She knows what she wants. She likes the best. Keep that in mind when we’re deciding to take this job or not. We might not want to deal with her if she’s going to be a royal pain about everything we do.”
“Good to know.”
The truck came to a stop, but before they got out, Lin asked about Leonard’s ghost-wife, Marguerite.
“Have you seen Marguerite lately?”
“I see her every day, Coffin.”
“I wasn’t sure. Did you ask her about my ghost? Did you ask her about Elise?”
Leonard ran his fingers over the scruff of beard on his chin. “I brought it up. I could tell by Marguerite’s face that she didn’t seem to know anything about Maura Wells’s or Topper’s deaths. I asked about Elise. Marguerite just stared at me and then she lifted her hand to her throat, like she was touching a necklace.”
Lin’s mouth dropped open. “A necklace?” She told Leonard how when she asked Elise if someone had killed her, her atoms flamed red and her necklace exploded into a million pieces. “Do you think Marguerite knows Elise wears the same necklace all the time?”
Leonard’s eyes were glued to Lin’s face. “You think because Marguerite touched her collar bone, it relates to Elise wearing a necklace?”
“It could, couldn’t it?”
“I have no idea. You’re the one who figures this stuff out.” Leonard held the dog, opened the truck door, stepped out, and placed Nicky on the ground just as Maggie Topper opened the front door to meet them.
“You brought a dog?” Maggie’s nose turned up and Nicky gave her a dirty look.
“He’s well-trained and obedient,” Leonard said. “He won’t be an issue.”
After introductions were made, the woman led the landscapers to the rear yard, still giving the little brown dog a nasty expression.
“You have a beautiful property,” Leonard complimented the space. “It’s walking distance to town, but private and secluded.”
“It’s been in my family for nearly two hundred years.” Maggie’s posture was straight. She was clearly proud of her home.
“It must have started with more land?” Leonard asked.
“Today the property consists of five acres. Initially there was much more land, but it was sold off over the years. I’m resistant to selling any more, but I’ve had an offer for two acres that is difficult to resist.”
Leonard asked which two acres were involved in the request to purchase.
Maggie pointed to the left rear of the property. “It would take a good part of the trees over there. A buffer of the woods would remain. I don’t know. My ancestor who purchased the land and had the house built was adamant that these three acres must stay with the house.” Maggie shrugged. “Some quirk of his that certain acreage couldn’t be sold off.” She chuckled. “I suppose I don’t wish to tempt his wrath should I want to sell off some land so I’ll be sure to keep the necessary three acres.”
Maggie walked Lin and Leonard around the backyard explaining where the two tents would be set up for the memorial service and what she wanted the yard to look like.
“Is it possible to do the work in time for the service?” she asked.
“It’s possible to do the work,” Lin said. “The question is … can we fit this project in while maintaining our regular workload.”
“When will you decide?” Maggie looked impatient. “I’ll be happy to pay more because of the time crunch. Why don’t I go inside and get some cool drinks and you two can have a private discussion about it?”
When Maggie had disappeared into the house, Lin asked, “What do you think?”
“Mrs. Topper is no worse that some of our other clients.”
“Do we want another difficult client?” Lin asked.
“Well, one good thing is it’s a temporary job.” Leonard glanced around the yard thinking over the amount of work the project would entail. “We wouldn’t have to put up with her for long.”
Lin took a step closer to Leonard. “Something about Maggie makes me uncomfortable. She doesn’t seem too broken up over losing her husband.”
“Maybe it’s a relief to be rid of him. From what Paul Monroe told you, Maggie was pretty haughty about her money and her status. Maybe she’s glad to be free to find someone new who’s more on her level of wealth.”
“That seems really harsh.” Lin scowled.
“The world is harsh, Coffin. You gotta surround yourself with the right people, people who care, people with kind hearts. It doesn’t matter how much money someone has. That’s not what’s important.”
Lin smiled at her partner. “Someone recently reminded me of that … and about the things that really matter.” She was referring to what Leonard said to her on her birthday when he gave her Marguerite’s sailor’s valentine, that only two things matter in life ... love and friendship.
Leonard winked. “And don’t forget it.”
Nicky, sitting on the grass next to Lin and Leonard, let out a long whine.
“Hold your horses, young Fido,” Leonard said to the dog. “We’re almost done here.”
“What should we do about the job?”
“It would be a lot of money,” Leonard pointed out. “For a short burst of work.”
Lin narrowed her eyes and kidded her partner. “I thought money didn’t matter.”
“We need to eat, Coffin.”
“What do you think we should charge for the project?”
When Leonard told her the suggested price, Lin asked, “Are you inflating the price because Maggie is rich?”
“It’s a case of supply and demand. She wants us to do the job. We have limited time and most of it is taken up with our regular clients. She’s in a rush. I’ve taken those factors into account and came up with a price that is fair to all parties.”
“Maybe you should have been a lawyer,” Lin said.
“That would drive me nuts. I like being outside.”
Nicky whined again.
“What’s wrong with you, Nick?” As soon as she asked the question, a cold sweep of air surrounded Lin and she turned slightly in the direction the wind blew.
Elise Porter’s translucent form stood off to the side of the yard, her eyes pinned on Lin.
Leonard took one look at Lin’s face and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Elise is here,” Lin whispered.
“
What does she want?”
“I don’t know.”
Nicky thumped his little tail on the grass and stared in Elise’s direction. The ghost-woman didn’t move, she just kept looking at Lin. The sadness coming from her was almost suffocating.
“I’m trying to figure it all out,” Lin said softly to the ghost. “I haven’t forgotten you.”
Elise’s atoms grew brighter and began to swirl. Faster and faster they went until the spirit’s form blurred, then flared, and was gone.
“Did she leave?” Leonard asked.
“Yes, she’s gone.”
“Did she say anything?”
“They never speak to me.”
“They don’t make it easy, do they?”
“They certainly don’t.” Lin sighed feeling the pull of sadness even though the ghost was gone.
“You okay?” Leonard asked.
Lin nodded. “Yeah.”
“Shall we go see what’s keeping Mrs. Topper?”
The landscaping partners turned towards the back terrace of the house when they saw Maggie coming out with a tray of glasses. The woman set it down on the porch table and waved them over.
They’d only gone a few steps when Lin stopped and reached for her horseshoe necklace.
“Elise wasn’t wearing her necklace. She didn’t have her silver chain on.”
Leonard gave Lin a questioning look.
“Every time I’ve seen her she’s been wearing that necklace.” Lin glanced around at the lush green lawn, the tall trees, the flowering hydrangeas.
“You told me it exploded the last time you were with her,” Leonard said.
“Yes, but….”
“But, what?”
“She should have it on. She’s supposed to have it on. The necklace breaking apart was only a … it was a symbol of something.” Lin rubbed her forehead. “It was trying to tell me something.”
“Do you have some idea what the message might be?” Leonard asked.
Looking back to where Elise had been standing, Lin shook her head, slowly and sadly, from side to side.
16
While Lin worked on the flower beds edged around the wide porch of the Mystic Inn, Nicky rested in the grass beside her. A few of the inn’s guests were sitting in white rocking chairs admiring the view of the patio, gardens, and green lawn. Kneeling beside one of the gardens, Lin could hear a woman’s voice coming from the porch speaking into a phone.
“I saw them. I couldn’t make out everything they were saying, but they were arguing. It was them. No, I’m not mistaken.” The woman cursed. “I am not exaggerating. It was those two people who got poisoned.”
Lin almost dropped her trowel and she leaned back on her heels to peer up to the porch. The woman who was talking into the phone had dark brown hair cut short around her face and appeared to be in her mid-forties.
“I’m going for a walk now,” the woman said and ended the call.
When the woman started down the steps to the lawn, Lin scrambled to her feet.
“Excuse me,” Lin said.
The brown-haired woman turned. “Yes?”
Lin introduced herself. “I do the landscaping here at the inn. I was working on those beds near the porch and I overheard your conversation. You heard the two people who were poisoned arguing with one another?”
The brown-haired woman stepped closer with a look of appreciation that someone was interested in her experience, and might like to gossip. “I did. It was definitely them.”
“Maura Wells and Warren Topper?”
“Yes. I couldn’t remember their full names. It was them and they were having an argument.” The woman extended her hand. “Penny Millbury.”
“I live year round on the island,” Lin said. “Mr. Topper lived here in the summers. It’s a close knit community. We were shocked by the murders. Where did you see Maura and Warren?”
“They were in that playground down near Brant Point. You know it? It was the night before the woman was found dead. It was dark. I was restless so I went for a walk. I sat down on a bench overlooking the harbor. There was tall seagrass separating me from the playground.”
“You heard their voices?”
“Yes. They were having a heated conversation. I thought it was some marital spat going on between them. Maybe they’d been out for dinner and drinks and an argument started and escalated,” Penny said. “I tried to ignore them.”
“What happened?”
“I couldn’t make out every word they were saying, but I heard enough to stand up and take a look at them.”
“Did they see you?”
“If they did, they didn’t pay any attention to me.”
“What were you able to hear?” Lin asked.
“The woman was saying things like I don’t know how you could do that … you deserve to be found out … you deserve to be disgraced. It sounded like a professional breach of some kind. I thought maybe she was his boss and he’d done something illegal at work.”
“Did she say anything else that might have given you a clue to what the man had done?”
“Not really. He was going on like some pathetic pansy. He asked her not to turn him in, or something like that. He promised to change his ways and do things right from now on. He knew he’d done the wrong thing, but I bet he admitted that only because he got caught. I bet he stole money from the company and got caught red-handed. Then he went boo-hoo about it … and promised he’d never do it again. Sure, he won’t.”
“How did the woman take it?”
“She said something like … there is no letting this go. She wasn’t having any of it. She whirled around and walked away, fast. I should have applauded. I bet he stole from the company, that woman found out what he did and confronted him, and he panicked about losing his job and his income … and decided to kill her.”
“If he killed her, then who killed him?” Lin asked.
“Maybe someone out to avenge the woman?” Penny said. “I almost died when I saw their pictures on the news.”
“Did you tell the police you saw them arguing?”
“No. What for? They must know the guy did something wrong. It was probably easy to find out. They must know he killed the woman.”
“Maybe you should tell the police what you overheard,” Lin suggested.
“I don’t want to get involved. No, I don’t. I didn’t see him kill her or anything.”
“What you overheard might be helpful.”
“I don’t see how,” Penny said. “The police can get the information they need from the firm those two worked at. I’m sure people at the company must have suspected his wrongdoing.”
“I don’t think Maura Wells and Warren Topper worked at the same place,” Lin said.
“No? Well, they must have some kind of business interaction. Maybe they’re both involved with a certain charity and she found out he was stealing from them. It could be a lot of things. But it was absolutely clear that he did something wrong, she discovered his shenanigans, and was going to report him. My guess is he didn’t care to be revealed so he killed her.”
“Did the man seem threatening when they were having their argument?” Lin asked.
“I tried to keep my eyes looking away from them, but my impression was that he wasn’t about to strike the woman and he didn’t try to hurt her. The idea to get rid of her must have been hatched later that night.” Penny gave a confidant nod.
Several couples strolled along the brick walkways of the inn’s property past the two women.
Lin asked, “You’re pretty sure the woman you saw that night was the person who got killed the next day?”
“I’m positive it was the woman who got murdered.” Penny nodded for emphasis.
“It was dark out, right?” Lin asked. “You were able to see their faces clearly?”
“They were standing under a streetlamp. The light reflected off their faces. I’m sure it was her ... and I’m sure it was him.”
“Had you ever seen them b
efore that night?” Lin asked.
“Never.”
“I can see that the man might have been so upset that he came up with the plan to kill Maura, but it seems he had to plot it out quickly since the attack came the very next afternoon,” Lin said. “Do you think he had enough time to make a plan to kill?”
“He must have, because he killed her the next day.”
“What if the same person killed both of them?”
Penny was about to answer in the negative, but changed her mind. “It could be possible. Maybe the killer thought the man and woman were accomplices in whatever crime the man had committed and decided to take them both out.”
“When you saw the argument, did the woman seem threatening?”
“No, she didn’t. Have you seen her picture? She wasn’t very tall or big. It would be foolhardy for her to attack the man.”
“I meant in the language she used. Did she make specific threats of any kind? Did she mention who she might alert over his wrongdoing?”
“I didn’t hear anything like that. I didn’t hear anyone’s name,” Penny said.
“How were Maura Wells and Warren Topper dressed the night you saw them arguing?”
Penny thought back on the night. “Professionally. I guess that’s why I thought they were business colleagues. He wore a blue suit. At least it looked blue. The woman had on a dress and a blazer. Not a fancy dress. It was tailored and businesslike.”
“Did Ms. Wells seem upset? Was she crying or emotional?” Lin questioned.
“Not at all. She was angry.” The woman checked her phone for the time and said, “I need to get going. I’m staying here at this inn for another five days, if you want to ask me anything else.” Penny started away. “Nice talking with you.”
Lin returned to the garden beds and began pulling out weeds, her mind in a whirl thinking about what Penny Millbury had told her. Warren and Maura did know each other. Did they have some financial interest together that Warren mishandled? He was an investment banker. Did he advise Maura about investing? Did he manage her money? Did he do something wrong with her money?
Another thought came into Lin’s head and it made her sit back on her butt.
